Displaced
by DreamStar37
Summary: Body Swap AU; Something was wrong with the machine, but Eva and Neil don't know that yet.
1. Switched

Something was wrong with the machine, but Eva and Neil don't know that yet.

It's a normal mission, an easy wish, no real hurdles slowing them down. As they back out for the last time, a strange feeling overcomes the doctors. A kind of electric tingling, not quite painful but worrying all the same.

When Eva comes to, she immediately knows something isn't right. Her body feels completely wrong, like her soul has shifted about when she wasn't looking, a feeling not unlike her shoes are on the wrong feet. A strange weight is pressed against her nose. Cautiously, she removes her helmet. This is... this isn't right. She wasn't sitting here when they entered the simulation, she's supposed to be sitting over- What. Eva does a double take when she sees... herself. Where she last remembers being, she watches as her own body removes their helmet, looking just as confused as she currently felt.

"What the fu-" Eva watches her body say, and she suddenly feels sick. Standing up, she stumbles over and grabs the other Eva, noticing her hands look suspiciously like Neil's- dragging them both out of the room. The flat lining of the patient's machine matches the ringing in her ears, walking is incredibly difficult for the both of them. Once they're out of earshot of the patient's family, Eva turns and looks her body in the eye.

"Neil? What the cabbage is going on- wooooooah, my voice is deep..." Eva looks away, patting her new face and mumbling softly. "Deep, deeeeeeeep, ooooooooooooh" she laughs, this was kinda fun if it wasn't so concerning.

"Eva-" She heard her voice squeak. Well, that confirmed it. Eva looked back down at her face, at Neil. Neil was blushing up a storm, it was kind of weird being taller, Eva had to remind herself to look down instead of up.

"S-something must of gone wrong with the machine..." Neil stammered, high pitched and gravely, did her voice really sound like that? Probably not, his voice kept cracking, fluctuating in pitch wildly, like he couldn't decide how he wanted to sound.

Neil was really panicking, breathing heavily and looking around the room. Eva raised a hand to her current face, tapping the unfamiliar glasses in thought. Guess he wasn't used to people seeing his eyes. They were no use like this, whatever happened with the machine to make them swap bodies, it had to be fixed. Taking a steadying breath, Eva pats Neil's shoulder to grab his attention.

"Okay, listen... We can figure this out later, for right now let's just get our of here without causing a scene." Eva was trying to keep her voice even, but she still wasn't used to how deep it was. Though... it wasn't quite as deep as she had expected. Before walking back into the room to grab the equipment, Eva can't help but tease. "So... when are you hitting puberty?" She whispers to Neil, escaping back into the room as he squeaks indignantly.

However, upon returning to the machine, Eva's mind blanks. Despite appearing to be a tech, she is not, Eva has no idea how to manage the equipment. Neil walks into the room and stops beside her, he's looking a lot more composed now, smirking at her mischievously.

"Why, Dr. Watts, could it be you've somehow forgotten how to pack up the machine?" He whispers traitorously, just quiet enough that the patient's family can't hear him. She glares at him, lightly punching him in the arm before turning back to the machine. He just grins, and sighs dramatically. "Weeeeeell, I guess I could help you out, just this once..."

The family was eyeing them in concern as Neil showed her the ropes of being a technician, ugh, this was a mess... Stuck in the body of her nerdy partner. Eva was not sure what to do, let alone ACT LIKE NEIL. Sure he made references and was a dork, but he knew how to operate the machines better than her. She really didn't want to cause a scene... She had to wing it. She had to play this unknown role in order to not draw suspicion, and she didn't even have coffee.

"...Heavy..." Eva huffed, shifting under the weight of the box as they walked to the car. Neil glanced at her, smiling in mock pity.

"Now you know my pain-" he teased, before tripping over his own feet and face planting on the ground, again. Eva just sighs, repressing the urge to face palm.

"Can you at least try not to get me killed?" Eva winces, if this kept up she had a feeling she was going to be suffering the effects when they finally switched back. Once Neil opens the trunk of the car, she attempts to set down the heavy box- yelping in pain, Eva jumps back, cradling her fingers to her chest.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention, watch the fingers!" Neil calls out, before jumping into the passenger seat and slamming the door. Eva follows suit, sliding into the driver seat and glancing at her partner. He'd closed the door too fast, and had shut his now long hair in the door. Eva watched him struggle before she silently reached over and opened the door for him, freeing the hair from it's prison.

"You gonna be able to drive like this?" He wonders out loud, pulling on the seat belt worriedly. Eva huffs, buckling herself in and starting the car.

"Bet I can do a better job than you, dude" she grins, attempting to do the cool anime-glasses thing, Neil just stares at her with a deadpan expression before bursting into laughter.

"That was- Oh God is that what that looks like?!" he manages between laughs, Eva simply punches him in the arm before backing out of the parking lot. They had a lot to catch up on before they arrived back at the office.

"Okay, so we just play it cool, get into your office, you can fix the machine and everything will be fine!" Eva was starting to get used to the situation, at least a little bit. Though, she still wasn't used to how tall she was, and promptly smacked her head on the door frame while getting out of the car. Neil, while laughing at her on his way out, tripped on the long lab coat and tumbled face first onto the ground.

With a grunt, Eva grabs the box from the trunk and trudges after Neil into the building. It's easy going at first, they're able to make it all the way up to the office hallways without attracting too much attention. However, it's as far as Eva is able to hold out, and she has to put the box down to catch her breath.

"Dangit Ev- uh... Neil," Neil clears his throat, casting a wary glance down the hall "...c'mon, we're so close, why'd you have to give up now?" Still catching her breath, Eva looks over at him.

"This would be easier, huff huff... if you took better care of yourself, eat a vegetable or something" She grumbles, causing Neil to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.

The sound of heavy footsteps approaching startles the both of them out of their thoughts, looking up down the hall. It's Robert, running towards them at full speed, grinning happily... what. In fear, Neil and Eva scream and attempt to scramble away, but to no avail. Robert grabs the both of them in a crushing bear hug, there is no escape.

"Oh my gosh! You guuuuuys, did it happen to you, too?" Robert's voice is oddly lilting, like he's trying to speak a lot higher pitched than his deep voice is able to. While Eva looks up at Robert in confusion, Neil is still desperately trying to free himself. In the chaos his long hair has taken over, Neil spits out hair, sputtering in silent, hairy agony.

"So, we weren't the only ones" Roxie's voice sounds from down the hall, strangely monotone. She leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching them with a disgruntled frown. Robert smiles at them in sympathy, gently releasing them from the hug and taking a step back.

"...How could you tell?" Eva asks, defeated. Roxie just shakes her head dismissively, walking up to stand next to them. Robert picks up the box, laughing happily.

"This is great! Look how strong I am now, and so taaaaall~" Okay. Seeing Robert act like this was really starting to freak Eva out. Neil looked like he was about to explode, holding his head in his hands. Walking to Neil's office door, he blocks their view before entering the password, and they all sneak inside.

The second the door is closed, Roxie turns on them.

"I don't know how, but I have the feeling this is something you did, Neil." Roxie grumbles, eyes narrowing suspiciously at Eva, before remembering the situation and turning to face Neil. Neil sticks his tongue out, very mature.

Robert- wait, no- Roxie? Wait- dangit this is confusing. Roxbert and Robbanne? Nope, that's just stupid. Eva shakes her head, okay, Roxie in Robert's body put's the heavy box down on the floor, before turning to face them again.

"Aw, c'mon guys, don't look so glum! This is fine~" Rox!Robert chirps, causing Rob!Roxie to shake his head again.

"Things are not, in fact, fine" Rob!Roxie sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Eva can't help but agree, this entire situation was really starting to get on her nerves, she could feel a headache coming on...

"Yeah, I don't know about you, but I'd really like to get back to my own body, and forget this ever happened" Neil mumbles, crossing his arms defensively. Rox!Robert pats Neil on the shoulder, a little harder than necessary, causing him to squeak again.

"Don't worry~! Neil and I can work on the machines, though, isn't it kind of weird how we all got switched?" Rox!Robert wonders, tilting her head to the side. Rob!Roxie nods solemnly.

"That's what I was thinking, this may not be an isolated case." Hearing Roxie's voice so monotone and low was really starting to freak Eva out, she was feeling restless just sitting here.

"Hey, while you two start working, why don't I go grab some food?" Eva suggests, causing the other three to glance at her. Neil makes a sour face.

"Fine, but take Bobert with you, I don't trust you to bring back anything but vegetables..." he grumbles, glancing at Rob!Roxie for a moment before looking away again. Eva just nods, not feeling up to arguing. She locks eyes with Rob!Roxie, before they both walk out of the office without a word.


	2. Unexpected

"...You look like you're about to murder someone, Robert" Eva mumbles, eyeing Rob!Roxie's sour expression. He looks up at her, crossing his arms unhappily.

"You try suddenly being over a foot shorter" he hisses back, practically pouting. She feels kinda bad for him, but at the same time, it's pretty amusing that Robert of all people is now stuck in the body of tiny, 5 foot tall, adorable Roxie. She's gonna have a hard time taking him seriously, but still...

"People are going to notice, maybe try... smiling?" she tries, and Rob!Roxie stares at her blankly for a moment before attempting to smile. Eva has to try very hard not to laugh in his face. "Okay, okay... just- let's pretend you're having a bad day?" Rob!Roxie sighs, hanging his head in defeat before nodded silently.

They make their way to the company vending machine without running in to anyone.

"You got any money on you?" Eva asks, checking her pockets in annoyance. There's not much; a pen, some lint, and... ugh, that bottle of pills again. Eva stuffed the bottle back into her pocket, she could ask him later. Rob!Roxie manages to find Roxie's wallet and they both peak inside. "...It's all coins" Eva sighs, of course. One by one, they use up the coins, grabbing a number of snack items.

"Oh, and what are you two up to?" Logan's voice startles them, causing Eva to nearly drop a handful of the snacks. Logan walks up to the pair, watching them curiously.

"Uhh, nothing! Just, just grabbing some snacks!" Eva stammers back, grinning and she tries to edge away. Logan doesn't look like he's buying it.

"Neil, why do you sound like that? And you, Roxie, that expression... is something wrong?" he narrows his eyes, think Eva, think!

Trying her best to not drop anything, Eva frantically double finger guns, before turning and running down the hall, Rob!Roxie hot on her heels. Leaving behind an extremely concerned and confused Logan.

Eva munched absently on a granola bar, but she wasn't very hungry. In fact, the tiny bit of food was making her feel really nauseous, she just chalked it up to body swapping weirdness. The other's weren't looking very good either, everyone was stressed out. Eva had a more pressing matter to attend to, though. She had been trapped in Neil's body for several hours now, and nature was calling. She's tried to hold off as long as possible, hoping the machine would be fixed in time, but it was looking like they were going to be stuck for a long time.

Trying not to blush, Eva clears her throat, attracting the attention of the room.

"Um... I, I've gotta go to the bathroom..." She mutters, voice cracking as she tries to maintain he composure. Now Neil is blushing too, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wh- Can't you just, hold it in?" Neil squeaks, obviously upset at the thought. Eva shakes her head, refusing to look the others in the eye, guess these one-way lenses were good for something after all. She'd actually gotten used to the weight of the glasses on her face, and the thought that no one could see her eyes. Neil groaned, hiding his face in his hands. "Just- Oh God just don't look, please-"

Eva hurries out of the office, hearing Rox!Robert's croaky laugh and Neil's muffled screaming grow quiet as she makes her way down the hall. Luckily, the bathroom is completely empty. Eva suddenly realizes another issue; how the heck is she supposed to pee like this? Couldn't she just... no, nope, no way. Eva stares up at the ceiling, blushing furiously.

Finally, she somehow manages to go to the bathroom without dying of embarrassment. While washing her hands, Eva stares at herself in the mirror. Turning this way and that, watching as Neil's reflection follows her every move. It was disconcerting, not recognizing herself in the mirror. Eyes narrowed, Eva turns to leave.

Without warning, a blinding flash of pain stops her in her tracks. She stumbles back, catching herself on the bathroom counter with a white knuckled grip. Gasping desperately for air, it takes everything in her not to collapse. Slowly, the pain fades back down to a manageable level. She can still feel it, thrumming at the edges of her being, causing her joints to ache, her heart still pounding rapidly.

What... what was that? Eva's mind raced, too many possibilities with so little information. This headache was making it even harder to concentrate, too. Eva groans, pressing the palm of her hand to her temple and clenching her teeth. Honestly, all she wanted to do right now was go to sleep and forget this ever happened.

For a moment, Eva thinks about bringing up the sudden pain with the others, but quickly decides against it. There was a lot going on right now, she didn't want to distract Neil and Roxie. Perhaps it was simply a symptom of the swap? Slowly, Eva lets go of the counter, testing her weight... Oh, her hands were shaking. Holding her hands up to inspect, Eva watches the minute shaking with interest. She wasn't really sure what to make of this, of course their bodies had been through a lot of stress today, but still, Eva was worried. Worried for her partner, and now worried for herself. If there was something wrong with Neil's body, what would happen if-

Shoving her shaking hands in her lab coat pockets, Eva sighs, and begins to make her way back to Neil's office.

Knocking gently on the door, Rob!Roxie lets her back in.

"Didn't fall in, didja?" Rox!Robert giggles softly, leaning forward and waggling her eyebrows. Before Eva can respond, or even bring up the random pain, Rob!Roxie catches her attention.

"We were just discussing stopping for the night, we all need to rest." He says quietly, it looked like he was trying not to fall asleep, leaning against the wall for support. Neil is already asleep, laying face down on the floor. "All our homes are quite a distance from the office, so we were thinking a hotel?"

Eva tilts her head slightly in thought, a hotel would be convenient... It's not like they could stay at the office, it might attract unwanted attention. Glancing at Rox!Robert, Eva notes her distant look as she spaces out, smiling serenely. Eva sighs, before nodding.

"Alright... yeah, sleep at hotel. Do we leave the machine here?" Eva shook her head, speaking was proving to be extremely difficult, she must really be tired. Rob!Roxie nods, pulling out Roxie's car keys.

"I'm driving." He says flatly, glancing over at Neil and Roxie, who were now both asleep, before looking back at her. "...You don't look so good." His voice low, so as to not wake up their sleeping partners.

"Don't feel good either... you?" Eva kept her hands in her pockets, she could still feel them shaking and it was starting to spread. Even her breathing was being affected, Eva had to consciously work to keep her breathing slow and even. Rob!Roxie closes his eyes.

"Horrible." He grumbles, hastily wiping his brow "my head is killing me... I haven't slept in over 24 hours, and..." Rob!Roxie makes a face, staring at his hands in abject horror. "...I haven't been this short since middle school, and I sound like a munchkin." he whispers, so quiet Eva has to lean forward to hear him. She almost feels bad for him, almost.

Patting him on the shoulder lightly, Eva tries to offer a sympathy smile. Rob!Roxie looks uncomfortable.

"...I know it's you, Eva, but I can't get past the fact you look like Neil." Oh. Eva backs up, stuffing her hands back in her pockets.

"Likewise." She mutters, looking down at the floor before walking over to their sleeping partners. Shaking Rox!Robert's shoulder lightly, then plopping down next to Neil and shaking him. While Rox!Robert rubs the sleep out of her eyes, Neil simply groans, shifting in his sleep before settling again. Eva groans, she did not want to deal with this right now...

Suddenly, Rox!Robert kneels down and grabs Neil, carrying him in her arms. It was an interesting sight, watching Robert carry Eva's body bridal style, but right now Eva was too tired to care. She simply gets up, and follows Rob!Roxie out the door and down to the parking lot.

"...Eva," Eva startles awake in the passenger seat to Rob!Roxie shaking her shoulder. "We're here." He mumbles, before scooting out of the car. In the back seat, Rox!Robert unbuckles the sleeping Neil, and scooping him up in her arms again. Eva goes to rub the sleep from her eyes, but bumps her glasses by mistake, whoops. Slowly, Eva slides out of the car, closing the door behind her and shuffling after the others.

As far as hotels go, it could be worse. It was close enough to the office, at the very least, and it wasn't run down or gross. The four stumble up to the reception desk, where a single bored employee of questionable gender sits.

"Hey, how can I help you?" They ask, eyeing the group curiously. By this point both Eva and Rob!Roxie were leaning against Rox!Robert for support. Rox!Robert smiles gently, shifting Neil's weight before nodding.

"Yep~! We would like to book a room, please!" She chirped, earning a look of slight fear from the receptionist. They talk for a bit on prices, before they hand a room key over. Eva's not really paying attention anymore, all of her energy being focused on just staying awake. She can hear Rob!Roxie snoring softly, pressed against Rox!Robert's other side. Suddenly, Rox!Robert shifts, causing both the sleeping traversals to momentarily lose their balance. Shifting the still sleeping Neil under one arm, Rox!Robert grabs Rob!Roxie, tossing him onto her shoulders, before scooping Eva up under her other arm. Eva is too tired to complain, but she can hear Rob!Roxie silently screaming from his new vantage point. The sudden motion is making her feel sick, though, but she bares through it as Rox!Robert carries them all to their room.

Once they reached their room, Rox!Robert placed Eva down to open the door. At some point, Rob!Roxie had fallen asleep again, and was leaning forward snoring softly. They walked into the bedroom, and discovered a problem. There was only two queen sized beds... Whatever.

They don't even bother turning the lights on, Eva just stumbles forward, keeling over sideways onto one of the beds. Rox!Robert gently places Neil on the bed next to Eva, then places Rob!Roxie on the other bed before collapsing next to her partner. Finally, it is time to sleep.


	3. Distant

Eva was pissed, in the sense that were she a furnace, the room would currently be black with soot. She was *exhausted,* but couldn't fall asleep. The other's had fallen asleep hours ago, laying on top of the thin blankets fully clothed, their lab coats left forgotten on the floor, snoring softly. Eva stares at the ceiling blankly, trying to decide whether she should just get up and do something or stay in bed.

The decision was made for her, when a sudden wave of nausea and pain washes over her. Eva rolls out of bed, limbs heavy as lead, and sneaks out of the room as silently as she can. She keeps a shaking hand pressed firmly over her mouth, doubled over as she stumbles into the small bathroom. She doesn't quite make it to the toilet, stumbling over her own feet and collapsing halfway into the bathtub, coughing painfully. Another wave of pain leaves her wheezing, blinking stars out of her vision as she dry heaves.

Eventually, she stops gagging, and slides backwards onto the bathroom floor, pressing her forehead on the cold linoleum tiles. Eva's not sure how long she stays there, shaking violently as the pain washes over her, until *finally* it fades back down to manageable again.

She still feels terrible, wiping the cold sweat from her face as she slowly sits up. Ugh. Once she's done rinsing out the bathtub, Eva drags herself to the kitchen. It's only 4:17 am, but it doesn't really matter at this point, all Eva wants is coffee. The hotel coffee is awful, but she downs the first cup in under a minute before grabbing a second. Chugging the coffee was a mistake, she's feeling nauseaus again, so she just sips the second cup and tries to breathe.

After putting the empty mug in the kitchen sink, Eva trudges back to the bedroom and carefully lays back down next to Neil. He's breathing softly, a peaceful expression adorning his face despite the fact his now long hair was a mess. It was still interesting seeing her own face like this, she didn't quite recognize it anymore. Blinking slowly, Eva can feel her focus deteriorate. Nothing felt real, the texture of the rough blanket underneath her felt both distant and way too overwhelming all at once. She sniffles, raising a heavy hand and removing her glasses, placing them on the bedside table before allowing her arm to fall back on the bed. Her thoughts slowed to a crawl, until there was nothing left but the static filled darkness.

When Eva wakes again, her heart is pounding rapidly in her ears. She panics for a moment at how blurry the room looks, before remembering, and silently grabbing Neil's glasses. Vision aquired, Eva glances around the room, looks like the others have already woken up. Normally, she would feel better after sleeping, but this wasn't a normal morning, it wasn't even her body. Her head is throbbing to the pulse of her racing heart, and she's shivering in a cold sweat. After a lot of struggle, she manages to get herself up into a sitting position. Grabbing her lab coat up off the floor and throwing it on, Eva shuffles out of the bedroom.

It takes her longer than she would have liked to process the chaos in the living room. Rob!Roxie is laying face down on the kitchen counter, while Rox!Robert holds Neil above her head, laughing manically while he screams.

"ROXIE, PUT ME DOWN!" Neil squeaks, waving his arms frantically. Eva flinches at the noise, maybe it would be best to just sneak back into the bedroom... Before she has a chance though, Rox!Robert notices her and grins in excitement.

"EVA! GOOD MORNING, HOW ARE YOU?!" She yells, before going back to spinning Neil in the air. Rob!Roxie shifts to glance at Eva, dark circles under his eyes.

"Roxie found the hotel's icecream supply..." he grumbles, before faceplanting back on the counter. Eva sits down in the other kitchen stool next to him, and lays down, patting Rob!Roxie's shoulder in sympathy.

"I'M INVINCIBLE-" Rox!Robert screams, before the tired traversals hear a loud thump from across the room. In unison, they sit up and look over to see Neil rolling away, Rox!Robert slumped on the ground and a large hole in the wall. Neil jumps up, running over and hiding behind Eva in fear.

"...Did she knock herself out?" Eva asks in concern, squinting across the room at the unmoving Rox!Robert. Rob!Roxie just slams his head back on the counter, whining loudly. Eva turns to Neil, who is still hiding behind her. Her blinks at her, backing up a tad before frowning.

"Woah, you look like crap." He says matter of factly, but his eyes betray his worry. He looked hesitant, like he wanted to say something but was holding back. It's still strange being able to see Neil's emotions like this, Eva shakes her head lightly.

"You're one to talk, moron, do you even know how to brush hair?" Neil gasps in mock hurt, holding a hand over his chest and puffing out his cheeks. Eva eyes his tangled hair for a moment, before sighing in resignation. "Wait here..." She pushes away from the counter, motioning for Neil to sit on the couch as she walks out of the room.

Five minutes later, Eva is back with a single hairbrush she found in the bathroom. Plopping down on the couch behind Neil, Eva sets to work.

"Wh- Hey! What the heck are you doing?!" Neil squeaks, trying to turn to face her.

"Just hold still, Neil..." Eva sighs, Neil hesitates for a moment before turning away from her, shoulders tensed. Grabbing a lock of hair, Eva tries to brush out the knots as gently as possible. Eventually, Neil relaxes, Eva can hear him breathing slowly, peacefully. She smiles, and continues brushing his hair in silence.

Rob!Roxie has since gotten up, glancing at them before shuffling over to the still knocked out Rox!Robert. Eva watches as he pokes her gently with his foot, before leaning down to shake her. She wakes up slowly, sitting up with a groan.

"Wha happen?" Rox!Robert looks around in confusion, as she is helped to her feet by Rob!Roxie.

"I understand you're excited, Rox, but please *try* not to get me killed." Rob!Roxie sighs, looking over his colleuge in concern, then at the hole in the wall. "We're going to have to pay for damages..." At the look on Rob!Roxie's face, Neil laughs loudly and leans back, causing Eva to stop brushing.

"Guess we better get outta here, huh Bob?" Neil hops up off the couch, striding across the room towards the door.

"It's Robert..." Rob!Roxie narrows his eyes, watching Neil with disdain.

Neil smirks, turning around to face them. "Robbie?"

"NO-" Rob!Roxie squeaks, before covering his mouth with his hands in surprise, blushing furiously. Neil looks taken aback for a moment, before covering his face and laughing again. Eva can't help but snort, before also laughing, Rox!Robert joining in a moment later.

"I-I'm sorry Rob, just the look on your face-!" Rox!Robert says between laughs, her voice croaking in mirth. Rob!Roxie pushes past Neil and out the door, still blushing. Trying to contain their laughter, they follow him out and down the hall.

Rob!Roxie makes Neil pay for the damages at the front desk, before they all pile back into Roxie's car. Eva and Rob!Roxie climb into the backseat and Rox!Robert into the passenger seat, as Neil hops into the drivers seat. As they drive back to the office, Eva leans her head against the cool glass of the window, watching the hotel dissapear into the distance.

On their way to Neil's office, the group run into Eddie in the hallway. He looks surprised to see them, and even more surprised at the state they're in.

"Woah! Are you guys okay? Why are you all wearing each other's lab coats?" Eddie's words prompt the four to look down at themselves, suddenly remembering that their usual clothing no longer belonged to them. Rob!Roxie was practically swimming in Robert's large lab coat, the end of which was dragging on the ground behind him. Roxie's lab coat on Rox!Robert was tiny in comparrison, the front buttons undone to allow it to fit. Neil's plain white lab coat hung off his frame, the sleeves too long for Eva's arms. Eva of course had her signiture gold trim lab coat on, though she hadn't bothered buttoning it due to how much her hands kept shaking. In all, they were a mess, and Eddie looked *extremely* concerned.

"It's, uhh, oh- it's opposite day! Didn't you get the memo?" Rox!Robert stutters, ushering the other three down the hall. Eddie blinks, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully.

"No, I didn't... but that doesn't explain-" Eddie tries to follow the four, still curious.

"Okay, nice talkin' to ya, bye!" Rox!Robert waves as they crowd into Neil's office, before closing the door in Eddie's face. They sigh in collective relief, before silently dispersing throughout the room. Neil and Rox!Robert kneel down next to the machine and set to work, as Rob!Roxie claims Neil's swivel chair. Eva plops down on the floor, leaning against the wall with a sigh.

Eva stared down at the floor blankly, the words of her collegues lost in the haze of sleep deprivation. Her eyes burned, like she was about to start crying, but closing her eyes felt like too much of a hassle. A part of her knew this wasn't healthy, that she should probably tell the others about the pain. But at the same time, she... she was- where... where was she again?

Her body felt far away, slightly to the left, like her spirit had shifted. The room looked wrong, the colors muted and flat, oversaturated with light. The other three's movements were too fast for Eva to comprehend, like she was watching a movie on fast forward.

Suddenly, a hand materialized before her, jolting Eva back into the present. Slowly, she looks up at herself- at Neil. He's frowning at her, eyes filled with worry.

"...Huh?" Eva blinks up at him, he narrows his eyes slightly.

"I said; we need something from your office, and I need your help to find it." Neil holds out a hand, after a moment she takes it, standing up shakily.

"Why can't I just get it myself?" Eva watches Neil walk to the door, before following him out into the hallway.

Once the door is closed Neil glances away, crossing his arms with a huff. "C'mon Eva, I've been working for *hours,* gimme a break." Hours? Has it really been that long already, Eva could of sworn they'd only been working for 15 minutes at the most... Strange.

The office light flickers on, and Neil strides forward as Eva quietly closes the door behind them. He plops into her swivel chair, scooting forward and booting up her computer.

"I, wait- what exactly did you need, again? Why couldn't you have used your computer?" Eva groans, shuffling behind Neil and leaning against the back wall to watch him. Neil glances at her, typing rapidly.

"Information, and I couldn't use my computer with freaking Rob breathing down my neck, obviously." Oh, of course. Eva just sighs, typical Neil behvaior. Though, this is the first time the two of them have been alone since they first switched, a perfect oppourtunity to question her partner without having to worry about Roxie and Robert listening in.

"Hey, Neil? Have you been expieriencing random flashes of pain?" Neil stills at her words, but he doesn't turn to face her.

"...No, I haven't, have you?" His voice sounds clipped, like he's forcing it to remain neutral. Eva knows not to push her partner, that she was encroaching on dangerous territory, but this is serious. She can't back down anymore, not now, she needs to know.

"Does this have anything to do with those mystery pills?" Eva mutters at Neil's back.

At that, Neil flinches, spinning to face her. His eyes are wide in both panic and anger as he stands up, seems they're at an impasse.

"Neil, if there's something wrong you need to tell me!" Eva steps forward, voice raised, challenging him.

"Nothing is wrong! This doesn't involve you-" He hisses, fists clenched at his sides, glaring up at her.

"Doesn't involve me?!" Eva can feel her heart pounding, faster than before, Neil flinches and takes a step back as Eva marches right up to him. "Even if I wasn't currently stuck in your failing body, do you really think I care that little about you and your wellbeing that this wouldn't involve me?!" Eva seethes, breathing heavily as Neil backs up into her desk in fear.

"Eva-" He looks terrified, shrinking back from her and holding his hands up in surrender.

"Don't you 'Eva' me! Goddammit Neil, I-" Pain erupts in her chest, causing Eva to choke on her words. She stumbles back, clutching at her chest and gasping desperately for air. The pain is intense and blinding, worse than all the previous times. She feels her limbs seize, vision growing darker with each passing second, everything feels muffled, distant...

 _She was not having a good day._

With that thought, Eva promptly passes out.


	4. Of Course

"Eva!" In an instant, Neil is at her side, argument forgotten. Eva blinks rapidly, trying to clear her spotty vision, when did she end up on the floor?

Neil is shaking almost as violently as her, eyes wide and fearful. She tries to speak, to console her partner, but finds that she can't. All she can do is let out a wheezing groan, as her head lolls weakly to the side against Neil's shoulder. He hugs her tighter, rocking slightly.

Eva writhes in his arms as the pain washes over her, tears falling undeterred. She can't breathe, she can't think, everything is just too much. Even the feeling of her sweater rubbing against her skin was painful, like thousands of tiny knives had been sewn into the normally soft fabric.

As much as Eva struggles against Neil's grip, Neil struggles to keep hold of her. In agony, Eva throws her head back, just barely missing slamming into Neil's face. He gasps, scrambling to stop the back of her head from coming into contact with the floor. In the scuffle, her glasses fly off, clattering to a stop on the floor a few feet away.

After what feels like an eternity, the pain recedes. It's still overwhelming, no longer manageable, her nerves frayed by the constant torment. Eva clenches her jaw, tucking her chin down against her chest, breathing heavily. Neil is panting too, still holding her firmly.

"You alright?" he mumbles, and she manages to nod weakly. Slowly, Neil releases her from the hug, but keeps an arm wrapped around her shoulders to steady her. They stay silent for a long while, getting their breathing under control. "...Sorry" he sighs, prompting Eva to glance up at him. He refuses to meet her gaze, pointedly staring at the wall, a distant look in his eyes.

"Why're you sorry?" Eva manages, voice whispy, barely above a whisper.

"I knew what was going on, but didn't say anything..." Neil's voice is low. Despite it being her voice, Eva can recognize his tone; he's telling the truth. "You were right, Eva, you always are" he grumbles ruefully, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before reaching into his pocket.

The pill bottle rattles slightly as he holds it up, both the doctors staring at it in silence.

"...Why, Neil?" Eva looks away, rubbing the remaining tears from her blurry vision. Neil stiffens at her words, before twisting the lid off the bottle harshly.

"C'mon, Eva, at least let me keep some of my secrets... here." Neil's hand materializes in her peripheral, holding out a single pill. Eva flinches as a twinge of pain shoots through her chest. She trusts that Neil knows what he's talking about, but the implications...

"I, I can't..." Eva shuts her eyes tightly, turning away from Neil. He pauses, and Eva can feel his hand tense on her shoulder.

"Eva, don't be like that-" Neil trails off, and she glances at him. He's frowning deeply, glaring down at the floor away from her, a conflicted look in those familiar brown eyes. His shaking hand is clenched around the pill. Grabbing the bottle, Neil stuffs the pill back in, leaving the bottle on the floor as he gets up. He leans Eva against her desk for support, before plopping back into the swivel chair and getting back to work.

Eva sighs, as much as she didn't want to do this, Neil would be the one suffering the most when they switched back. If she could, she would go through the entire withdrawal process for him. He would owe her big time, and she would hate every second of it, but that's what friends are for, right?

Groaning in annoyance, Eva grabs the bottle and downs a single pill. The result is instantaneous, almost like Neil's body had been anticipating it. The pain subsides slowly, and it's like a weight has been lifted off her chest. She feels better, not great, but better. Eva takes the opportunity to retrieve Neil's glasses, which thankfully are undamaged, and put them back on.

With a huff, she leans back against the desk again and closes her eyes. The only sound coming from Neil, typing away at her computer.

"...Hey-" Neil begins after several minutes of silence. "I'm sorry... for not telling you sooner, I just-" his voice cracks, shoulders tensed in regret. Normally, Eva would chide him about being stupid, but right now she's just too tired.

"I already knew, dude" Eva mumbles, not bothering to open her eyes. Neil doesn't say anything. "...Is it always this painful?" God, she really hoped not. Slowly, she raises a hand to her chest, remembering the pains of the last day. And wow, it really was only a day since this happened, though it felt like a whole week had passed.

"Not normally, no, I usually don't let it get this far-" Neil grimaces, no longer typing.

"But you wouldn't tell me." Eva can't help but feel frustrated with him, that he would know exactly what she was going through but do nothing.

"...No, I didn't want to; I was hoping the machine would be fixed before..." He falters, trailing off again.

"It's okay, I get it" Eva had her secrets, too, things she could never tell Neil. A part of her wanted to tell him everything, he of all people understood her best. But... no, she can't. She could deal with this herself, there was no need to involve him. That's why she can't stay angry with him, that fear of rejection- she knows it all too well. The day would come when Neil would find out, but that day was not today. But her problems didn't affect her physically like Neil's did-

Just then, a thought occurs to Eva that stops her in her tracks. She opens her eyes, staring down at her hands for a moment. "...Neil?" Eva tries to keep her hoarse voice steady, she faintly hears Neil hum in question. "Do you... do you even want to go back?" She whispers slowly, sniffling slightly. Neil flinches, before slumping in the chair with a sigh.

"...Not really, no- it's actually really nice not being in pain for once..." Neil crosses his arms, slouching forward and closing his eyes. "-But I have to, what kind of a partner would I be if I left you hanging like that?" He doesn't look at her, voice sorrowful, that he could ever think of doing such a thing. Eva reaches out, patting his arm gently, causing him to startle and turn to face her. They lock eyes, and Eva smiles gently.

"We'll get through this together" she says with a decisive nod. Neil blinks, staring at her with wide eyes before relaxing.

"...Yeah, I guess we will" he mumbles, before smiling softly, then finally breaking out into his signature lopsided grin. Eva finds herself grinning back, heart fluttering happily.

"There's my partner, you dork" Eva chuckles in relief, her head clear for the first time in what feels like forever. At this, Neil's eye's sparkle warmly in mirth as he laughs, true and genuine. He hops up out of the chair, extending a hand out to her, which she gladly accepts. "Got all the info you needed?" She asks as they walk out of the office, Neil just nods, and opens his office door.

"Ooooooh, look at you two lovebirds~!" Rox!Robert coos, causing Eva and Neil to glance down at their still clasped hands. They both jump back, blushing furiously as Rox!Robert laughs, a knowing smirk on Rob!Roxie's face.

"Roxie, I never want to hear those words come out of Robert's mouth again" Neil grumbles, hiding his face in his hands.

"Dawwww~ What's the matter, Neily-Weily?" Now even Rob!Roxie looks uncomfortable with his partners words, as he slowly sinks back below Neil's desk to hide. Eva shuffles over, kneeling behind the desk next to Rob!Roxie as Rox!Robert laughs loudly.

"...You're looking better, Eva, did something happen?" Eva hears Rob!Roxie whisper, as they watch their respective partners begin work on the dream machine. Eva glances at him, noting the dark bags under his eyes, and the way he sways ever so slightly.

"Mmhmm... I keep ibuprofen in my office, so that helped" Eva lies effortlessly, looking away again. In silence, they wait and watch their partners tech skills in action.

Suddenly Neil stands up and puts his hands on his hips.

"Okay guys, I've figured it out!" he grins, only to squeak loudly when Rox!Robert slaps him on the back, causing him to stumble forward a few steps.

"Don'tcha mean *we've* figured it out, silly billy?" She laughs, and Neil spins to face her so fast his long hair whips around to smack him in the face. This only causes Rox!Robert to laugh harder, deep voice cracking in delight. Neil attempts to straighten his glasses to save face, but just pokes himself on the nose, then staring at his hand in disappointment.

"What exactly did you figure out?" Rob!Roxie questions, peeking up from behind the desk apprehensively. Neil clears his throat, straightening back up.

"Turns out there was some kinda company wide glitch; the safety precaution that tells the machine which doctor goes where got scrambled-" Neil begins, only for Rox!Robert to jump forward.

"-So anybody who was in a simulation at the time got switcharooed!" She chirps, earning an exasperated look from Neil, before he continues.

"Pretty much every department had at least one team get switched, even that one weird branch, Smundig, I think it was called-" He tries, but is yet again interrupted.

"Anywho~ Lucky for us, this means there's already a patch in place! All we gotta do now is go back in two at a time so it can work it's magic~!" Rox!Robert reaches down, grabbing two helmets and holding them up to show. Rob!Roxie frowns, standing up to inspect the machinery.

"How do we know it will work?" He eyes Neil suspiciously, still partially hidden behind the desk.

"Don't you worry your pretty little blonde head, Rob; Roxie and I have already input the code necessary to initiate the switch back." Neil grins when Rob!Roxie scowls at him, eyes sparkling mischievously. "Ladies first?"

"Right now- that would also include you, Neil... and I don't think you want to get swapped into Roxie's body, and I certainly do not want Robert in mine" Eva pipes up, still crouching behind Neil's desk. Rob!Roxie nods, now glaring openly at Neil, a slight blush starting to form.

"Two of us need to go first, either Roxie and I, or Eva and you..." Robert groans, rubbing his temples in frustration. Eva notices as Neil suddenly gets a look in his eyes, a look she knows oh so well; he's about to say something outrageously stupid.

"I would say we should draw straws, but you're already the shortest one here, Rob-" Neil narrowly dodges a stack of papers being thrown at his head, courtesy of a very flustered Robert. "HEY-!" Neil squeaks, pointing at Rob!Roxie angrily as he ducks back down behind the desk. "Okay, that's it! You're going first, Bobert!" He yells, as both Eva and Rox!Robert face palm at their antics.

It's Rox!Robert that makes the first move, since Neil and Rob!Roxie seem content just glaring at each other until the office burns down around them. She strides forward, scooping up her currently smaller partner in her arms before walking back across the room. Rob!Roxie struggles the whole way, voice high pitched in utter rage at such treatment. He manages to kick the laughing Neil in the shin on the way over, causing Neil to yelp, jumping up and down in pain. Eva really wishes she had some coffee right about now.

Rox!Robert and Rob!Roxie lay down on the floor, placing their helmets on in unison.

"Alright, you take care of them, Eva, I've got the machine." Neil says, not looking at her while typing away at the interface. With a sigh, Eva kneels down next to the other doctor's heads, watching the process take place. The machine makes a strange whirring noise, the helmets blinking yellow slowly.

After about a minute, the shaking begins, at first so subtle that Eva doesn't notice. As the minutes tick by, their distress is readily apparent, before it stops all at once. Eva hears the machine beep, Neil's typing growing silent as they both look over their friends.

Ever so slowly, they begin to stir, pulling off their helmets and sitting up.

"Uuuuugh, my head..." Roxie groans, holding her head in her hands. Robert stretches, looking around for a moment before giving Eva a shaky thumbs up. Before they're able to talk though, Neil starts panicking, typing frantically.

"No! Nonono! F^$K-" he hisses, slamming a fist on the keyboard in anger. Roxie scoots forward, glancing at the screen in confusion.

"It's got a cool down phase? How long?" Roxie chirps softly, eyeing Neil with concern.

"24 hours... Eva and I are gonna be stuck for another day" Neil groans, falling backwards with his face still in his hands. Eva just face palms, of course something went wrong.


	5. Sheneilagains

24 hours, a whole nother day they would be trapped in each others bodies. They'd managed to survive the first day mostly unscathed, and with only a small amount of emotional scarring. They'd since switched back to their signature lab coats, had an image to upkeep after all. There was nothing to do but wait it out, and after surviving on nothing but junk food since the switch, the four doctors were starving.

"MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS!" Roxie cheers sleepily, voice slightly slurred as they stumble out of the building. Eva stared up at the sky in shock, when the heck had it become evening? The four pile into the company car, Eva and Robert taking the driver and passenger seats respectively, while Neil and Roxie flump into the back.

One local Mcdonalds was often frequented by the Sigmund doctors, it was the closest to the office and the perfect place to go after a long mission. By now the Mcdonalds employees were used to the sight of the exhausted duos, generally keeping one table hidden in the corner clear for them.

In they stumble, feet dragging on the ground and clothes disheveled. The cashier barely even bats an eye, simply asking for their order with a peppy tone.

"A coffee, please" Robert asks politely as they read over the menu. So much to chose from, so little time. Robert had the right idea, coffee sounded great right now.

"What the cabbage is a McToast? Eva whispers half to herself, stifling a yawn.

"It's shut up, shut up is what" Neil grumbles back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Roxie laughs deliriously, leaning sideways into Eva and grinning.

"Mcshut yo' face-" She squeaks, before devolving back into uncontrollable laughter. Eva still didn't understand what a McToast was.

In the end they just order a bunch of different foods and coffee, and collapse at the corner table.

Eva munches on a burger absentmindedly, just trying not to fall asleep and subsequently die. If she died now then Neil would be stuck in her body for the rest of his life, and that was unacceptable. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get into when people thought he was her, so dying was certainly not an option. Roxie loudly slurps a strawberry milkshake, glancing around the table.

"Sooooo... Cool down phase, didn't see that coming." She giggles, chewing on her cup's straw awkwardly.

"Roxie, I love you, but please shut up..." Eva groans, watching as Neil passes out for a second and lands face first in his chicken nuggets.

"I am just so disappointed in technology right now" Neil says as he peels a chicken nugget off his cheek, then eating it in one bite. "Do we have a plan? We should have a plan." Neil reaches across the table, attempting to grab some fries off Eva's plate.

"Screw you Neil, these are my fries" Eva swats his hand away, shielding her food possessively. Neil turns to Roxie and Robert, eyeing their food with apprehension. While Robert simply moves his plate a little farther away, Roxie grabs her fry container and upends the whole thing into her mouth in one go. As much as Eva disapproves, she can't help but be impressed.

"I assumed the plan was to just survive the next 24 hours." Robert says, holding his fry container above his head as Neil tries to grab it. In retaliation, Neil darts down to grab Robert's coffee. Eva and Roxie watch their partners scramble, grappling with each other as fries explode everywhere. Without a word, Eva picks up one of the fries and eats it.

"Sweet, we got a plan, now if you'll kindly excuse me~" Roxie quips, falling sideways into Robert and hugging her milkshake sleepily.

"Okay but seriously, what are we gonna do?" Ugh, Eva could feel another headache coming on.

"Like right now, or in general?" Neil scoots away from Robert, crossing his arms and pouting at his lack of delicious salty Mcdonalds fries.

"Right now, moron. We can't just stay at Mcdonalds until tomorrow..." Eva takes a long sip of her coffee.

"Maybe you can't, I however could probably still fit in the play area-" Roxie grins, glancing over at the children's area with interest.

"I'm not calling the police if you get stuck again, Rox" Robert grumbles, pulling a fry lose from his hair and discarding it on the table in disgust.

"I refuse to sleep in a hotel bed again, so screw that" Neil shakes his head dismissively. Eva has to agree, as convenient as the hotel was the experience was sub par. Her neck was still sore from sleeping on that cruddy bed, and her short hair sticking up every which way was in dire need of a good wash.

"I doubt we'd be welcome at that hotel anytime soon, considering the damage we did" Robert rubs his forehead, guess Roxie's little adventure left them with more than one headache.

"We could stay at my house, I need to water my plants" Eva offers, leaning back in her chair and sighing softly.

"Ugh, you and your plants... No way, they can survive another day!" Neil grumbles, bumping Eva with his arm as he stretches. "We can stay at my place, it's closer at the very least"

"Then why would you even ask-" Eva complains but is interrupted by Robert moving to stand up.

"As much as I would love to listen to the two of you bicker all night... I would like to get home." He says, picking up his food tray and walking away. The three remaining doctors quickly follow him, Eva munching the last of her fries before tossing it in the trash. She keeps hold of her still hot coffee, though, holding it close and allowing the steam to fog up her glasses.

Ah, coffee, she would never do anything to harm it, oh how she loved coffee. With a shrug, Eva chugs the remainder of the drink, crumbling the paper cup in her hand and chucking it into the trash.

Once they arrived back at the office, it was time to split up. Roxie and Robert both took off, heading home with a wave and shouted goodbyes. Eva flopped into the passenger seat of Neil's car with a sigh, closing her eyes as Neil started up the car. His house was closer to the office, that was for sure, but it was still a 20 minute drive away. The first 5 minutes passed in silence, they were both tired after all. But Eva was feeling strangely restless again, like she wanted to jump up and run around but just didn't have the energy, she opens her eyes to watch the scenery zoom past. All she wants to do is sleep, in a real bed, not some cheap hotel bed... Wait a minute.

"Neil?" Eva mumbles, looking over at her partner. He replied with an inquisitive grunt, not looking at her. "At your house, you only have one bed?" At her words Neil blinks, glancing at her for a second before back to the road.

"Of course I only have one bed, Eva, I live alone." He mumbles, brow furrowing slightly.

"Okay but are you gonna sleep in your bed? You're still in my body, and where would I sleep?" She wonders out loud, this whole situation was a complete disaster.

"I-" Neil is blushing furiously now, staring at her slack jawed.

"Stop blushing and focus on driving!" Eva waves her hand in panic slightly, prompting Neil to snap back to reality and look at the road again. He's still blushing though, and now Eva is too.

Only 10 more minutes of driving left, yay.

Neil's house was exactly what Eva had expected, though slightly less messy. It seems empty though, only a handful of picture frames and not much decoration. It was nice though, getting to see an environment that reflected her goofy partner as a whole. They both kick their shoes off at the door. He flumps down on the couch with a sigh, letting his head loll back to stare at the ceiling. Eva blinks and moves her head around a bit, there's a weird transparent spottiness to her vision. Oh, right, glasses. Eva removes the heavy glasses, squinting down at the lenses with disgust.

"Ugh, Neil, your glasses are gross..." She tuts, cleaning the offending lenses on the hem of her shirt. Neil gasps dramatically from across the room. Once the glasses are sufficiently clean, Eva shuffles across the room and plops down on the couch next to Neil. "Okay but for real, who's sleeping where?"

"I uh, well..." Neil stammers, blushing up a storm again and looking away in embarrassment. "I can... sleep on the couch." His voice trails off, and Eva shakes her head in disapproval.

"I can't let you sleep on the couch in your own home, besides then I would be sleeping in your bed alone-" Eva stops herself, she can feel her own face heating up at the thought as well.

"Nothing can ever be easy, can it? Uuuuugh" Neil covers his face in his hands, muttering quietly to himself. "So we both refuse to sleep on the couch, and the floor is a no go-"

"Does this mean what I think it means?" She looks to Neil with wide eyes. Both of them are doing their best impression of an overripe tomato. She almost wishes they'd gone to sleep at the hotel after all, at least there were multiple beds. But now it was too late, they're just gonna have to live with their mistakes. Eva had a feeling surviving the night was going to be a little harder than she'd first thought.

Neil's bedroom is surprisingly well decorated, a nice plush carpet and even a bonsai on the bedside table. Eva nods slightly in approval as they both hang their lab coats up on the coat rack. As she looks around, Neil rummages through his dresser.

"Good idea, I'd rather not wear my work clothes to bed again. What'dya got?" Sleeping in normal clothes was fine and all, but it wasn't very comfortable. Eva tugs on the hem of her shirt, sniffing the fabric slightly. Yuck, sleep smell, this is what she gets for not changing in over 2 days.

"I mean, I have these-" Neil turns, holding up a pair of brightly colored pajamas.

"Are those... pikachu pajamas?" Eva blinks, staring at her partner with a deadpan expression.

"...Yes." He fidgets, looking away. Eva just sighs.

"No offense, but I would rather be caught dead than wear that." She grumbles, Neil sadly lowers the offending pajamas. "But we need to change into something..."

"I can wear the pikachu pajamas-" Neil squeaks hopefully.

"I want those clothes no where near my body." Eva shakes her head, as comfy as it looked she had standards. Neil grumbles and puts the neon monstrosity back in the dresser, instead pulling out two pairs of solid color pajamas. He tosses one her way before flopping down at his computer.

"You go first, I wanna check something" He says with a wave, and Eva turns to walk back out into the hall.

There's not that many rooms in Neil's house, there's only two more doors left unopened. She opens the closest door and peers inside, nope, just a closet. Looks like it's door number two, nice deduction skills there, Sherlock.

The second Eva opens the door, she jumps back. What the- what the cucumbers is this?! Only Neil would have a shower curtain with a freaking cartoon FACE plastered on it. She shuffles into the small bathroom, never breaking eye contact with the smiling face, eurgh. Why, just why.

Wordlessly, she opens the curtain, if she can't see it then it's fine. Moving on, the less time she spent in here the better, just stare at the ceiling, yep. Once she's done, Eva glances at the still open shower.

Oh, a shower would be great right now. But if she wanted to keep both her dignity and Neil's, it was out of the question. Not that this wasn't already undignifying, her face beet red as she pulls the teal sweater up over her head. Oops- Her glasses got caught in the fabric. Dangit, she can't see anything, how does Neil survive like this?! Once the glasses are free Eva also covers the mirror with said sweater, this was fine, totally fine. Nothing to see here, folks!

After she was done changing, Eva finally uncovers the mirror. She stands still for a minute, looking down and feeling the pajama material between her fingers. "...Soft." By now she'd gotten used to the situation, it still felt wrong but not as much as before. The general disconnection of body and mind had blurred, just enough so that she could almost forget. Almost.

There's a laundry hamper in the corner, so Eva drops the old clothes in before stumbling back into the bedroom. With a yawn, she plops down on one side of the bed. "Your turn-" Oh. Neil's already out the door, okay then. Now to just, uh, wait here, she guessed... Hm, that's a nice bonsai.

Eva takes a closer look at the plant, it looks pretty healthy, guess Neil really did take good care of it. That was nice to know, everything about his house was just so *Neil.* The looks, the decor, even the faint smell of his... deodorant? Or maybe it was his shampoo, she wasn't sure. It was almost kind of weird, like she was getting to know a new side of him. In a way, he was like a broken mirror, all the different shards reflecting something different, something new. Hiding multitudes of history and personality behind chips and cracks. With edges and wit so sharp to keep people away, to not get broken anymore, tiny bits of glass lost in the carpet of life. Maybe she was too, maybe everyone was. Just mirrors shattered and glued back together.

...Oof, she was getting kinda deep with this. C'mon Eva, quit thinking about weird stuff when you're dead tired, it's just gonna get sad.

Just then, a sharp pain shoots through her chest, nearly knocking the wind out of her yet again. Eva doubles over, wrapping her arms around her waist and clenching her eyes shut, shaking violently as she waits for the pain to fade. She knew it would fade, it always did. She was starting to get used to this, as much as it sucked.

The door creaks open, revealing a newly pajamaed Neil. He blinks at her expression, wordlessly grabbing something from his lab coat pocket and tossing it across the room at her. Not expecting it, the object hits her square in the forehead, knocking her glasses loose and bouncing away with a rattle.

"AUGH! NEIL-" Eva squeaks as he laughs at her. She grabs the object, the pill bottle, off the floor as he strides over, flumping down on the other side of the bed.

"Sorry you weren't ready for my sweet moves~!" He boasts, leaning sideways against her and flexing with a goofy lopsided grin. With a huff, Eva gently elbows him away before taking a pill.

"Would be nice to know what this was all about, y'know." She grumbles, placing the bottle along with her glasses on the bedside table. Neil sighs beside her.

"Yeah, I know..." He grumbles as they both shuffle under the blankets. It's a little snug, considering it's a twin sized bed, but they fit. Their arms are bumped together, and Eva can feel the warmth of him next to her. She wasn't used to this, used to only ever sleeping alone, but it was... comforting? Awkward, yeah, but nice all the same. She could hear his breathing slow down as he fell asleep, his head lolling against her shoulder.

Eva smiles, watching his blurry face in the dark. As she rolls her head against his, closing her eyes and just enjoying this moment, Eva thinks to herself; this was something she could get used to.


	6. Stargazer

Something was wrong. Eva wasn't sure what yet but everything about this just screamed wrong.

She was in the office, or at least she thought she was. It was more like a picture of the office, flat and muted, and she was trapped off to the side. Neil's words repeat dully in her nonexistent ears; "like watching a train wreck..." Can't move, can't breathe, can't speak. Cant do anything.

She can only watch as Roxie and Robert set up the machine, sending Neil and herself in to be switched back to normal. But something's wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.

The machine sparks, glitching and whirring and smoking. Roxie and Robert try to fix it, to do something. They manage to pull the helmets off just in time, before the machine finally quits with a sad cry of busted machinery and circuits.

And Eva watches herself die, but that's nothing compared to seeing Neil open his eyes, still trapped in her body. He's screaming, and they're all crying, and Eva is dead. She watches her partner try desperately to wake her, please he cries. Please don't leave me alone... But nothing can be done. Nothing.

She's dead, and everything is wrong.

Eva jolts awake, voice cracking with a strangled cry. The wrongness feeling persists, and she looks around frantically for the source. But it's all just blurry shapes, looming and swaying in the shadows. This isn't her room, there's nothing to recognize or latch onto.

Just shapes in the dark, watching and waiting. She's frozen, sitting upright and clutching her blanket with shaking hands. Wheezing shallowly, staring wide eyed into the darkness, tears blurring her vision even further. She's scared, so so scared. The sound of her friends grief still echoing in her ears.

Out of the blur, a person materializes, reaching out to grip her shoulders firmly. It's... herself? Eva blinks, staring her own concerned face in the eye.

...Was she still in the nightmare?

"Eva... just, focus. Look at me, okay?" The other Eva's voice sounds muffled, blurry sounds and shapes. But they look just as concerned as she feels, all broken mirrors and useless terror. Cracking under the pressure of things she can't control. Empty promises and whispered wishes, made in the dead of the night for deaf ears that strain to listen. "It's alright, whatever you saw, it's not real"

The voice is her own but it sounds different, she knows that tone like she knows her own mind. That's the way he talks, when she's allowed glimpses into the mysterious life of her closest friend. "You're here, with me..."

"...Neil?" Eva blinks, taking in a shaky breath.

"There you are" Neil gives a tired smile, still keeping hold of her shoulders as she reorients. The fear from the nightmare still lingers at the edges of her mind, but she has something to focus on now. "How am I supposed to get any sleep around here with you scaring me half to death, huh?" Neil quips lightly, raising an eyebrow at her.

With a yawn, she wiggles back down under the blanket until she's comfortable, Neil flumping down next to her with a tired sigh. "Start by shutting up" Eva mumbles into the pillow, Neil chuckles softly. She focuses on his slightly blurry form, ignoring the rest of the unfamiliar room.

"But wheres the fun in that?" Neil complains, pouting slightly. Eva kicks him gently under the covers, smiling sleepily and his mumbled 'hey!'

Sleep doesn't come easy, but it does find her.

Eva awakens to someone shaking her shoulder. But she's still tired, and this bed is really comfy... So she just hugs them tighter, intent on getting as much sleep as possible.

"Eva, c'mon... I gotta get up" They grumble, attempting to wiggle away from her grip.

"Nnnnnn..." But the blankets are so nice and soft...

"Evaaaaaaaaaa-" That whiny tone... Oh, right, it's Neil. That made sense, this was another one of those dreams. In that case, Eva snuggles up closer, best to enjoy this dream as much as she could before her alarm went off. Better than a nightmare, at the very least.

"Five more minutes..." She mumbles sleepily into his pajamas. Neil keeps trying to pry her arms away, why can't the dream just let her enjoy this, dangit.

"...This would be a lot cuter if you weren't me right now-" He sighs ruefully, managing to get one of her arms away, and he starts work on the other arm... only for her to hug him again. His words take a moment to process in her coffee-less mind, and she blinks up at his blurry face.

"Cute?" She asks, causing Neil to blush furiously, apparently realizing what he just said. While Eva's distracted, he succeeds in wriggling free, quickly leaping away and out the door.

Eva frowns, staring at the door sadly for a moment before wrapping herself up in all the blankets. Fine, this just means more comfy cozy blankets for her, so there. So what if Neil left, she would rule this empire of pillows with a sleepy iron fist... right after she was done napping, that was.

...It was getting kinda hard to breathe under all these blankets, though. Eva pokes her face out into the cold morning air, taking a deep breath. Was that... did she smell bacon? Peeking out from under the covers, Eva looks blearily around the room, the smell of food waking her up slightly. Oh, right, glasses. Eva searches blindly for the tricky eye wear, ugh, how the cucumbers is she supposed to find these things when she can't see?! Blanket, bed, more bed, table... AHA! Glasses!

Vision yet again acquired, Eva sits up in her fortress of blanketude. The pieces of the puzzle finally clicking together in Eva's sleep deprived mind. A puzzneil, if you will. Eva groans, she really wishes this was all just a dream, a very weird and confusing dream maybe, but a dream all the same. Not reality, not...this.

Abandoning the warmth of her blankety kingdom, Eva shuffles out of the room and down the hall until she's standing in the living room. She can see into the kitchen from here, but the sight makes her pause. Careful not to make any noise, Eva tiptoes forward until she's standing just outside the kitchen.

Neil has his back turned to her as he cooks, bacon sizzling in the pan as he mixes something off to the side. He was doing a little dance, and the sight of that combined with his ill-fitting pajamas had Eva grinning happily, trying to contain her laughter.

"Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes! Take some bacon and I'll put it in a pancake! Bacon pancakes, that's what its gonna make, bacon pancaaaaakes~!" He sang, bouncing back and forth while he poured the pancake batter. Eva couldn't help it anymore, and laughed softly at her partner's antics. Neil startles, nearly dropping the spatula as he spun around to look at her.

"E-Eva, you're awake!" He squeaks, staring at her with wide eyes, blushing yet again. Eva keeps laughing, striding forward and sitting down at the counter. Neil goes back to his cooking, glancing at her every so often. Eva just yawns, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and watching the coffee pot fill. Silently, Neil grabs two mugs and slides one her way.

"Creamer?" Neil asks, rummaging around in his fridge, before pulling out a single bottle of coffee creamer. By the time he makes it back, Eva's already done pouring her coffee.

"Yeeeaaah, whatd'ya got?" She smiles, trying to catch a glimpse of the label.

"Just french vanilla, nothin' fancy." He passes it to her, hurrying away to flip the pancakes before they burned. Eva grabs it, pouring in just enough to remove the bitterness, but so she could still taste the coffee. She sips it quietly, watching the steam fog up her glasses as Neil flips the pancakes onto two plates. He plops down in the seat next to her, sliding her plate over and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Eva looks down at the plate for a moment, before slowly taking a bite.

"...This is really good." Eva mumbles, eagerly taking another bite.

"Aw c'mon, it's not that good-" Neil says through a mouth full of food, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. Eva shakes her head slightly at him.

"Compared to my cooking, I always burn the pancakes." Eva shudders, remembering all the burnt food she's had to eat over the years. No matter how much she tried, cooking simply eluded her.

"Oh yeah, I remember that- 10th grade Home Ec. right?" Neil chuckles beside her, earning a tired glare from Eva. "There was so much smoke the fire alarm went off!" Ah, right, she remembers that too. She'd gotten in so much trouble, a week of detention AND a whole month grounded when she got back home. Her parents had been absolutely furious.

"Better than pulling the fire alarm on purpose to ditch a math test, like a certain bespectacled nerd." Eva elbows him lightly, laughing when he drops his forkful of pancake right before biting down. He pouts at her, before elbowing her back, engaging in a short spar as they continue eating with their free hands. It may not look like it, but this was war.

While switched, they knew all of each others weaknesses. Specifically, as it turned out, Neil was extremely ticklish. And while Eva herself was never exactly ticklish, this wasn't her body. He manages to catch her under the ribs, tickling mercilessly, and Eva nearly laughs herself right off the chair. She jabs him in the gut, just hard enough that he stops, and Eva is able to catch her breath without choking on her food.

She twirls away, hiding behind the counter and glaring at Neil, cheeks burning red. She tries to hide it behind her cup of coffee, but Neil already knows. He just grins, tipping his head back and laughing loudly. In fact, he's laughing so hard he slips right off his seat, landing with a pained 'oof!' on the floor.

"No sympathy." Eva chuckles into her coffee, watching Neil pull himself back up.

"Well then, I get first dibs on the bathroom!" He sticks out his tongue, turning dramatically on the spot and stomping away. After a moment, he pads back into the kitchen, quickly grabbing his mug. "...Forgot my coffee." Neil mumbles sheepishly, slinking away once again as Eva laughs.

Alone once again... Eva quickly finishes up the remainder of her meal, before grabbing the all dishes. Neil was nice enough to make breakfast, the least she could do was clean up. But, um, dishwasher or sink? Well, there was a bottle of dish soap by the sink, so that must be it. The dishwasher looked broken, anyways, and partially charred. Just what the heck is Neil doing with that thing? Ugh, sometimes she swears it's like leaving a kid alone with a clock and a hammer.

Rolling up her sleeves, Eva sets to work. The warm water and repetitive movements are calming, not requiring too much thought as the caffeine kicked in. Now that she was awake again, the fear of last night sat uneasily in her rib cage. Today was the day they would finally switch back to normal. She wanted more than anything to just be back in her own body, but at the same time switching back looked less than ideal. She remembers how distressed Robert and Roxie had looked during the process yesterday, what would it feel like? Well, Eva guessed she was going to find that out today, whether she wanted to or not. At least the dishes were clean, that was a start. What else to do..?

"EVAAAAAA, HEEEEEELP!" Neil's panicked voice echos throughout the house. In an instant, Eva is tearing down the hallway, behind the bedroom door she finds Neil. He's floundering about on the floor, arms stuck over his head in his tangled pajama top.

"...Neil, what the pineapples did you do?" Eva stares down at him, he stops rolling around and waves his hands frantically.

"YOUR FREAKING EVIL HAIR GOT CAUGHT ON SOMETHING!" She hears his muffled cries from within the confines of the pajamas, high pitched and squeaky.

Eva blinks, before smiling wryly. "Looks like you're stuck in a pretty hairy situation-"

"Eva please, your hair is killing me!" Neil whines, attempting to free himself again to no avail. Eva kneels down next to him with a soft laugh, searching through the mess of hair and fabric. Finally, she finds the problem; a knot of hair tangled around a single button. It takes a moment, but she gets the button free, thoughtlessly pulling Neil out of his pajama induced nightmare.

He squeaks indignantly, wrapping his arms around himself and looking very much like a tomato. "wait- HEY!" Neil's voice goes so high pitched it practically cracks. Oh- oops, right, she just stole his shirt. I mean, it's her own body and there's a bra so it's not like she's embarrassed, but Neil certainly is. Eva quickly chucks the shirt at him, standing and speed walking out of the room before he has a chance to complain, or a chance to see how much she was blushing too.

Closing the door behind her, Eva leans against it and sighs. She was off to a great start this morning, why don't we just give him a heart attack while we're at it? Padding silently back into the living room, Eva flops face first onto the couch and silently screams at her thoughtless actions. Luckily, couch foam transfers all existential screams directly to the void. The cushions will never reveal her mournful cries, because couch cushions are good listeners. Ouch- the glasses are kinda digging in painfully with her face pressed to the couch like this. Eva rolls over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling in boredom... Ugh, what's taking him so long?

"Er..." Neil's voice sounds from across the room, startling Eva out of her unplanned nap. She looks over at him, hiding partially in the hallway. He's wearing a pair of clothes she recognizes, one of his sweaters that's way to big on her body, a pleasing light blue color. It's not like she brought a pair of clean clothes for him to change into, but the bagginess of the clothes make her look a bit childish. "It's, uh... your turn." Neil mumbles, not quite looking at her. Before she has a chance to say anything, he scurries away into the kitchen, empty coffee mug in hand.

Well, no time like the present, she guessed. With a huff, Eva shuffles back into the bedroom. Looks like Neil's already set out a pair of clothes for her, too. Eva shrugs, and pulls off the pajamas, at least now she didn't have to decide what to wear. Definitely not that one shirt he wore to work once, the one that was just a picture of his own face grinning. Or the tuxedo shirt he wore to a professional meeting, Robert had been so upset, Eva didn't know a human face could contain such utter disappointment. Definitely not one of the many tacky Christmas sweaters she's seen him wear over the years, those things had no right to exist in an office setting or otherwise.

Eva pulls on the teal sweater and slacks, shivering slightly in the cold. How many sweaters does Neil even own, was there like a big sale on men's turtle necks at the store and he just impulse bought them all? She could honestly see him doing that, bustling out with an armful of rainbow sweaters. 'Always prepared!' he would say, before tripping and dropping like 100 fuzzy disasters all over the parking lot. Eva chuckled softly, shaking her head as she grabbed the pill bottle and Neil's lab coat. Once the pajamas were tossed in the laundry hamper, she walked back into the kitchen. Neil glances at her, sipping from his refilled mug silently for a moment.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asks, downing the last of the coffee and placing the mug in the sink. Eva just nods as she goes to the door, slipping Neil's shoes on with ease. "...You didn't have to clean the dishes, y'know. I can handle it myself" Neil says as he grabs her shoes, Eva rolls her eyes.

"It's the least I could do, just say thanks and let's get going, Mr. Dishwasher Murderer." Eva grins mischievously, causing Neil to gasp in offense, a single hand raised to his chest. She elbows him, striding out the door with a hoarse laugh.

Back at work yet again, they'd arrived early today so as to not run into any of their coworkers. Eva sighs quietly, walking a few paces behind Neil through the office corridor, hands shoved into her lab coat pockets.. Their time in this mess was almost up, she should be happy... but she wasn't. All Eva felt was anxiety, bubbling in her gut and turning all that coffee sour. She wanted to switch back to normal, but at the same time, something just felt off. The entire drive to the Sigmund office the feeling had built, dreaded wrongness edging into her thoughts and overtaking any rational logic.

Because fear is tricky, and sometimes bad things happen and we just don't know why. Because Eva's nightmare wasn't just some dumb fantasy, it could really happen. An entire future snuffed out in an instant, machine whirs and circuitry burned black in the embers of grief.

Because Eva was afraid, and there was nothing she could do.

Nothing to do but follow Neil into his office, and just get this whole thing over with. Neil startles, stopping dead in his tracks just inside the doorway. Distracted by her thoughts, Eva walks right into him, nearly knocking them both over.

"How the- why are you in my office?!" Neil squeaks angrily, Eva shakes her head and peeks over his shoulder. Robert and Roxie are both here already, Robert having stolen the swivel chair and Roxie sitting on the desk, swinging her legs happily.

"Picked the lock, of course~! Now c'mon, let's get this show on the road!" Roxie chirps, hopping off the desk and plopping down next to the already powered-up machine. They're both looking much better today, well rested and properly dressed. As she sits down on the floor, Eva catches a glimpse of the machine interface. There's a little over an hour left on the countdown, at least she had time to mentally prepare herself.

Neil sits next to Roxie, looking over the machine and chatting with her about the process. Eva eyes the machine suspiciously, trying to see if anything looks wrong about it. But, everything looks wrong about it, Neil keeps forgetting to put the casing back on when he fixes it. And she's not really sure what a 'good' machine is supposed to look like, either. Well, there's no exposed wires or charred areas, so that's a plus at the very least.

She spends maybe half an hour glaring at the danged thing before Neil gets up and sits next to her. He gives her a meaningful look, checking to make sure the others weren't listening before turning back to her.

"You're doing that thing again" He whispers, nudging her slightly with his elbow when she doesn't look at him.

"...What thing?" Eva stares back, grateful he can't see her eyes right now, since they keep darting back to look at the machine.

"Where you get really quiet and pretend you aren't scared, that thing." Eva blinks, was she really that easy to read?

"I'm not scared!" Eva hisses, shoulders squared as she turns to face Neil fully.

"You haven't said a thing this whole time, I even dropped some quality jokes for you and you didn't even bat an eye, and frankly I'm offended." He frowns, holding his arms up and waving them slightly in exasperation.

"Well, I'll try harder to give you some half-hearted pity laughs, then. How's that?" Eva grinds out, crossing her arms defensively. Neil just shakes his head.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make here, obviously you're scared of something, so out with it already before I sic Roxie on you." He points at her, eyes narrowed and voice low.

"You wouldn't-" Eva freezes, voice barely above a whisper.

"Wanna bet?" And he would, Eva can see it in his eyes. The last thing she needed right now was Roxie hugging the truth out of her. Begrudgingly, she relents, slouching with a huff.

"...Fine, fine... okay? You win..." Eva closes her eyes tightly for a moment, taking a deep breath and finally looking back at Neil. "It's about that nightmare, the machine failed, and I died, and you got stuck in my body forever... That's it, are you happy now?" The words tumble out of her mouth, fast and quiet, spoken in fearful hushed tones. Neil stares at her for a long moment in silence, eyes wide as he processes what she just said.

Eva just stares down at the floor between them, waiting for him to say something, anything.

...But he doesn't, they just sit in silence, the only sound being Roxie and Robert talking softly from across the room. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Neil reaches over and grabs her hand in his. She look at him with a start, blinking in surprise. He just flashes that goofy lopsided grin that she's come to know and love. Eva smiles back, bravery burning warmly in her chest.

"AWWWWWWW~" Roxie coos from across the room, startling the two love bugs into remembering they weren't alone right now. They blush, Neil squeaking angrily and yelling at both Roxie and Robert, but he doesn't let go of her hand.

The time finally comes for them to start the process, as Eva knew it would. As scared as she is, she knows it can't be avoided. At least with Neil by her side, hands clasped together between them, she has something to hold onto. Both literally and figuratively. Helmets secured, they both lay on the floor and brace themselves. The machine whirs to life, and Eva lets the world slip away.

Empty space greets the two doctors as they reorient. Without a patient's memories to go off of, the simulation is mostly blank. But Eva can still see some wispy memories surrounding them, blending together in the blurry landscape. Some of them she recognizes as her own, like her childhood bedroom or her office. Others are unfamiliar, those must be from Neil.

Suddenly, a strange feeling overcomes them, a vague fogginess spreading out from her chest. As the process begins, Eva finds herself alone in the simulation. She only has a moment to be worried before she's thrust into a memory. Laying on soft grass, surrounded by nothing but twinkling stars and endless night sky. From this vantage point, Eva can see nothing but the sky hanging suspended above her. The borders of her body blur, and it feels like she's flying. Floating in the empty space, blues and purples and so many stars in every which direction. Lonely yet full of wonder. Free...

...But this isn't her memory, Eva's never gone stargazing before.

There's someone here with her, someone she doesn't recognize. An old man, eyes twinkling as bright as the stars above, smiling in mirth. He says nothing, simply hugging the very confused Eva. She can feel herself drifting again, the lights in the sky ebbing gently, over saturated colors and halos. Right before it fades to black, Eva hears the old man speak.

"...Thank you for taking care of him for me..."

Who? She wants to ask, but it's too late. Eva feels her senses fade, until nothing is left but the ever present whirs of machinery.

.

.

.

"Eva? Eva!" Robert's voice sounds far away, but it's enough for Eva to focus on as she slowly comes back to consciousness. Immediately, she knows the switch worked correctly. Removing her helmet with her free hand, Eva sits up, allowing her thankfully long hair to fall forward.

"Did it work?" Roxie asks curiously, peeking over at them from behind the machine interface. Eva nods slightly, wincing as a headache sets in, ugh.

...Looks like Neil hasn't woken up yet, though. Eva squeezes his hand in worry, watching his still face for any sign of life. Finally, finally, he twitches minutely, and opens his eyes.

The second he sees her, Neil grins, and squeezes her hand.


End file.
